Bridal Regrets
by QueenOfTheSilence
Summary: A sequel to YES. The wedding was suppose to be perfect, Just how she had imagined it but at this rate it will be anything but. Her friends are taking over her wedding celebration and one is visibly jealous of all the attention she is getting. She also has to deal with an assassin attempting to kill her, her husbands tortured origins and a bunch of will the day turn out alright?
1. Chapter 1

To say Fluttershy loved weddings would be a huge understatement. _She absolutely adored them_.

Everything about a wedding was beautiful in her eyes, from the dresses to the ceremony to the first dance and of course, to the bride and groom. Fluttershy couldn't recall a time where she hadn't cried at a wedding. It was just here things, weddings and eternal vows brought tears to her eyes. Sure she wasn't obsessed with them like her friend Rarity Fairheart was, but she still loved them. Except one small, little, itsy bitsy thing.

_Her own wedding. _

For most mares, their wedding day was something they dreamed about since they were fillies. Fluttershy was no different, she had dreamed about a lavish wedding where she married a dashing prince and became a princess, and like most girls, she even had a dress all picked out before she was even eleven years old. But pretend and reality are two very different things. The thought of her upcoming wedding sent her into a panic attack anytime she even thought of it, even know it was hard for her to calm herself mentally.

Most outsiders would assume her anxiety stemmed from marrying a monster like Discord, and she knew there were a few rumors going around saying she was forced into it. In fact, it was far from the opposite. She had fallen in love with Discord over time, with his care free attitude and lust for chaos. It was hard not to laugh or giggle at his jokes or his pranks. Of course Fluttershy never expected to go anywhere, she was much to shy and well...Discord had barely begun to understand friendship, Fluttershy wasn't even sure if he had knew what love was. But of course that all changed when he demanded her hand in marriage in exchange for stopping his on Ponyville. Fluttershy had agreed out of love and not cowardice. Yes, it was strange they hadn't even dated yet but there they were getting married.

Fluttershy sighed. The real reason for her anxiety had to due with her low self-esteem and social phobia. While Fluttershy had been a model, she still thought of her self as an ugly duckling; from years of torment at the hands of her peers. She chalked that up to merely luck and the trick of the lens. As for her social phobia, it had gotten way better since Twilight had arrived in Ponyville but it was still mildly bad. She still couldn't handle positions where she was THE center of attention or when she was singing, even in a large group. She really had no idea why she was scared of people listening to her singing, probably because next to her ability to communicate with animals, it was her favorite talent and the fear of being mocked over it scared her.

Of course, there was one other reason why she was dreading her big day. Her friends. Yes, the ponies she cared about most, who had held her through tough times and had been with her through everything. Of course most would wonder why and it had both simple answer. Her friends over helping. Yes, there was such thing as over helping. For the past two weeks she had been dragged all over Equestria and beyond to look at possible wedding locations, discussing catering with renowned chef, sample and design the wedding cake. The only problem was most of her friends seem to be choosing what place to hold it at, or what food would be served and including that, they had basically snubbed Discord.

Despite the defeat of Tirek and the true reformation of Discord, they actually trusted him less then before. Her friends were trying to pretend they were okay with this whole situation, but both she and her fiance (Fluttershy giggled at the word) knew the truth. Discord of course waved it off, claiming that he was use to it by now. It hurt, that her friends couldn't trust her to trust him and even worse, that they would not try and include Discord into the decisions. Sure he was silly and turned Twilight's hair into cotton candy any chance he got, but he was still the groom!

She was frustrated beyond belief. She had attempted many times before the Tirek incident and after to try and get her friends to like her hubby-to-be but it was met with cold dinner conversations or awkward picnic lunches in the park. Of course she wasn't saying she didn't appreciate their help. Twilight had pretty much gotten instant approval from Princesses Luna and Celestia to fund the wedding with the royal trust fund. On the surface, the princesses claimed it was a donation to award Fluttershy for her reformation of Discord. But in truth, they considered Fluttershy to be an extended part of the family like the other elements and were more then happy to make sure her wedding day was perfect.

Running her hooves through her hair, Fluttershy stretched and glanced at the clock above her mantle. The familiar kitty cat clock smiled back at her, it's mouth forever painted in a grin, one eye closed as if winking. In the one open eye, there was the clock, ticking away in a constant uninterrupted rhythm. The needles of the clock read 12:02 PM. Anxiety once more flared up inside the pegasus's stomach. Her friends would be arriving soon, taking the train to Manehattan to look at dresses. Dresses...

There had been one part the bride to be hadn't mentioned and that was Rarity was the worst in the department of over helping. No, she was beyond that, she was attempting to live through Fluttershy. She knew that Rarity was more then a little jealous that she was getting married. It wasn't about the groom, as she despised him, but had to do with the fact that she had expected to be engaged to somepony by now and the first of her friends. Knowing she couldn't stop the wedding, both for fear for her friend and jealous, she decided to try and make it about her. Fluttershy while she did try her best to give everypony the benefit of the doubt, was in fact not naive or stupid.

Years of breaking up fights between her animal friends and being their 'shrink' has taught her a lot about reading another's body language. Sure she wasn't a pro, but she knew how to detect when her friend was jealous. Usually the obvious snappiness was a dead give away.

Despite protests and maybe some pleading, Rarity had created a wedding dress for the mare. Now usually Fluttershy wouldn't like this because she didn't want to be a burden on her friends, but this time it was because of the dress it's self. It was horrid. Absolutely horrid. It was even worse then that outfit Rarity had made when gained Butterfly wings so she could watch Rainbow Dash in her competition. Just thinking of the dress made Fluttershy want to barf. And Fluttershy had one of the strongest stomachs from treating her injured animals and practice in keeping barf down. It was that bad.

Rarity had absolutely blown a gasket when Fluttershy timidly pepped up that she maybe try some other styles. She practically harassed the poor pegasus until finally Discord appeared and turned her coat to the most awful shade of yellow. After Rarity had run screaming home, a irritated Twilight suggested that they try on dresses instead. Which was a good idea, because Fluttershy knew that Rarity would not design another dress for her, and would make sure that she donned that horrid dress on her wedding day.

Fluttershy's long trail of thought was cut off by a short series of knocks on the door. Based on the three gentle strikes, she instantly thought Rarity. Her assumption was proven correct when the familiar upper-class accent drifted in through the door.

"Fluttershy darling! Open up, I have your dress and I just know you are dying to try it on"

Fluttershy wanted to fake sickness or being unavailable but Rarity did know unlocking spells, and when the pegasus didn't answer she would just let her self in. She had seen her self do it before. Stomach churning, she got up from her arm chair and made her way to the door of the cottage. She stood there for a moment, debating. She could just hop out the back window and maybe go see Discord, he was usually nearby. There was also the fact she felt guilty for wanting to ditch one of her friends. Her good nature winning out, she hesitantly opened the door. Rarity stood, a smile plastered on her face and a very large dry cleaning bag in her grip. Had it gotten bigger? Fluttershy was sure that bag was bigger from last time.

Before Fluttershy could do her best to stop her friend or her remind her of today's plans on visiting Bridal Mare Boutique, the unicorn had already whipped the dress out of it's bag. It had gotten bigger, the dress that is. The sheer weight of the dress had to be larger then her own weight. It was a giant ball gown, with large bows all over the dress. That wasn't the bad part, no the dress also covered it's wearer from the hooves to the top of the neck, covering everything completely. The dress had extremely large puffed sleeves and an enormous train that was at least ten feet long.

Her stomach lurched once more and she was sure this would be the time where it would decide to empty it's self. "Something the matter darling? You seem a little green." Fluttershy was at a loss for words. She loved her friend but this was too much, this is not the dressed she had envisioned on her wedding day. She imagined something light and airy with small flowers decorating the dress; not some abomination of a dress.

"Um...I..."

Fluttershy stammered unable to find the ability to speak. Before she could get a chance to pass out from anxiety, a familiar flash appeared near the duo, scaring Rarity and bringing joy to the others heart. Once the light had died down, which took a mere second, Discord stood in it's place, hoovering slightly off the ground.

"Discord! What are you doing! You can't see the dress" snapped Rarity, hiding it behind her back with her magic.

"Well good afternoon to you too, Miss Prissy" replied the dragonaquees sneering slightly at her and stroking his beard fondly. "You know your hair would look great in a mullet, don't you think?" He snapped his talons and in an instant, Rarity's usually pristine hair was turned into a what Rarity considered to be the devil of all hairstyles. She screamed and backed away, desperately trying change her hair back with her vast knowledge on hair styling spells. A glare from Fluttershy lead to a grumbling Discord to return the mares hair to normal.

"See? All better, still it was fun making you scream. It was even more fun then when I set a dozen animated cat toys into your house" Discord flipped onto his back midair, laughing loudly at the memory. Rarity merely seethed and Fluttershy merely stood tensely to the side.

"You... LEAVE!" screamed the unicorn, to which Discord merely rolled his eyes and summoned one of Twilight's favorite books, one that had written and signed by the highly praised magician, Aurora Skies. Discord frowned and glanced the authors name. Hadn't that been one of Princess Celestia's cover names? He could never remember. Whatever. He opened the book and began eating pages.

"Why did you want me to leave again?" asked Discord, between bites. Rarity clenched her teeth and stamped her feet as a sign of intimidation, which failed.

"You can't see the dress!" reiterated Rarity, who was still attempting to hide the dress from the groom. Discord stroked his chin then snapped his fingers. The dress behind Rarity disappeared and reappeared in Discords hands. In a matter of five seconds, he was on the floor laughing at a speechless Rarity.

The mare stood there for a full minute before mentally shaking her self and standing tall. "Well you've doomed yourself to a broken marriage, I suppose I might as well as what's funny" demanded the alabaster unicorn. Discord held it up in his 'hands' and stopped laughing, though he kept letting out small giggles.

"My dear is this the dress you honestly expect her to wear?" he asked, highly amused, in turn Rarity huffed and grabbed the dress away from him.

"And what is wrong with this dress? Not chaosy enough for you? Needs buttons made of cheese or what? You'll be happy to know this is one of the most exquisite dresses around! Crafted by moi!" Discord snorted in reply and grabbed the dress again. He cleared his throat and rattled his head for a second before speaking.

"This is the most god awful dress I have never seen, and it has nothing to do with chaos. In fact it is an insult to chaos and an even bigger one to fashion. There are too many bows, the skirt of the dress is bigger then that fat rump of yours, the sleeves are enormous, it covers way to much and is absolutely unappealing on Fluttershy's figure" To make his point, he summoned his quiet lover to him and conjured up a measuring tape, measuring her slim waste. "She needs something more...fitted."

Fluttershy squealed as her fiance grabbed her a little to tightly around the waist. Discord winced and uttered an apology. She merely smiled and nuzzled his side in return.

"What...do...YOU KNOW, YOU HIDEOUS BEAST!" The couple whipped their heads towards a momentarily forgotten Rarity, tears dripping from her eyes. Fluttershy's heart froze and her stomach once more was in knots. Fluttershy attempted to comfort her friend but was instead met with an icy response.

"What do you think Fluttershy?" The way she said it made her feel so cold inside, as if she was talking to ice. "You don't think it's horrible do you?" The second question was pretty much barked at her, and in return Fluttershy backed away a bit.

"Well it's...um... well it has... um...yes?" If Rarity was sobbing before, she was now crying a river of tears.

"I thought you liked it?! You said so yourself" Fluttershy cringed and inwardly felt her anger bubbling. She knew that Rarity was trying to guilt her into wearing it. She didn't want to! It wasn't fair, this was her day and she should be able to wear what she wants, not this! She bit her lips and inwardly debated. Before she could answer though, a knock sounded on the door. Fluttershy pretty much lunged at the door, eager to evade the question. She through open the door with vigor and greeted the rest of her friends, Spike, Twilight, Dashie, Pinkie, Jacky and Cadence...Wait what? Cadence? Fluttershy quickly bowed, to the point where she was sure her head almost touched the ground. Cadence giggled and waved her away. "No need for that" she said, helping the mare up.

"Oh um...okay Princess...But can I um...ask...why your...um...here?" she asked timidly, hoping she wouldn't be turned to dust for such a question. Cadence laughed. "Returning a flavor and helping a friend." When Fluttershy merely stared at her in confusion, the alicorn explained. "You acted as a bridesmaid in my wedding, proven to be a loyal friend to my 'sister and helped save the Crystal Empire. It would be am honor if I could return the favor and serve as a bridesmaid in your wedding, hopefully though you'll see me as a friend and not one doing this out of debt.

Fluttershy blinked for a second, taking it all in. "Um...Okay..." she said meekly, fluttering her wings out of habit. Cadence smiled warmly at her and giggled slightly but stopped short of the sight of Rarity. The unicorns hair was in a mess and her mascara was smeared.

"Something wrong Rarity? You seem upset." Rarity let out a fake sniffle and wiped her eyes with her handkerchief.

"Oh nothing dear, just found out my friend has the ODACITY TO LIE TO MY FACE! You know just general stuff." Discord, largely unnoticed by the group, piped up.

"No your faking crocodile tears because _my beautiful little Pegasus_ does not want to wear your hideous abomination of a dress that looks like it should have been burned even before it was sewn together." To emphasize the situation he created a bonfire with a large wooden pole in the middle, the dress tied to it. Rarity gasped and grabbing the dress and hugging it to herself.

"Discord!" snapped Twilight, annoyed with his actions. Discord merely petted her on the head and shoved the cover of once was _Master Spells: Illusion _into her hands. She snarled at the state of the book, but before she could power her horn for a nice hexing spell Applejack interrupted the group.

"Look, we're all under-stress, I'm sure Fluttershy doesn't hate your dress Sugarcube, she just wants to explore her options. Now we better skedaddle before the train leaves. Without us. " She pointed to the cat clock which now read 1:21 PM. Fluttershy winced at the time. It was getting late, they should have left ten minutes ago.

"AppleJack is right, we should go" Rarity said, her voice still dripping with menace. Fluttershy suddenly had a bad feeling. She knew Rarity could get jealous, but she still wasn't sure what the other mares limits where. The group of ponies plus one baby dragon began to leave before Cadence stopped and turned around.

"Aren't you coming Discord? I mean I know you can't see the dress, but aren't we also doing cake tasting?" The group turned to look at the draconequus and most stared hesitantly or even venomously at him. His ears flattened against his skull, and once again he could see was unwanted. He had tried, so very to befriend them but nothing worked. He was ready to say no before he saw that face. His Fluttershy. Her eyes were big and filled with hope and desire and at that moment, it didn't matter if the rest hated him. It was only she who mattered.

"Yes"

The walk to the train station, or flight in somepony's case was quiet and awkward. By the time they boarded the train and found their seats, most of the excitement for the trip a head had diminished. Fluttershy sighed heavily and allowed a tear to fall down her muzzle. Why wasn't this going as planned? Why couldn't it all just be liked she dreamed as she was small? Her friends there supporting her, surrounded by people she loved and adored. Instead she was getting a silent treatment from Rarity, a glare of disbelief from AppleJack and Rainbow Dash, an annoyed look from Twilight, whose hair was cotton candy. Again. The only ones not angry at her were a tense Pinkie Pie and Cadence. Fluttershy bit her lip and pressed her head against the creature next to her, enjoying his warmth and comfort. This was going to be a bad day, she could just tell.


	2. Chapter 2

_Dreaming for Discord was usually a rare thing. While he did sleep, more to pass time then anything, he rarely recalled his dreams. So it was a small surprise to him that he found himself stuck in some dark, dusty old cave. Discord knew it was a dream because even in dreamworld, he could feel Luna's magic at work. The first thing he noticed, aside from the strange setting around him was that he was in a body of a pony, a unicorn to be exact as he studied himself in a small pool of water. It was strange though, while he could make out the form of his body, his horn and the coloring of his fur, gray, he could not see his face._

_The draconequus frowned and attempted to change back to his original form. Unfortunately, it seemed as though his chaotic powers were of no use to him in this realm, a new thing. Sighing, he glanced back at his surroundings. He was in fact in a cave of some sort, but it seemed like it had once been someones home. The place was large, stretching on for miles. The walls were engraved with pictures and foreign words alike. Statutes, all of unicorns, littered the place. The room Discord was currently in appeared to be the entry way from the cave to whatever place this was._

_Discord briefly considered attempting to wake himself up, maybe by trying to summon Luna with his limited mundane Unicorn power or by seeing if he couldn't will himself awake. But something about this place seemed familiar and interesting. He debated quickly and decided it wouldn't hurt to take a peek around. He headed towards a large stone door at the opposite side of the room from him. As he approached it he noticed that there was a old, yellowing paper stuck to the door. While he couldn't place the era of the writing, it was definitely not modern Equestrian._

_BEWARE TRAVELER_

_FOR DARKNESS LIES WITHIN THESE HALLS_

_I FOOLISHLY ATTEMPTED TO EXPLORE THEM, _

_LOOKING FOR LOOT AND TREASURES._

_INSTEAD I FOUND SOMETHING MUCH WORSE_

_I SHOULD HAVE LISTENED TO MY WIFE AND STAYED_

_HOME WITH OUR BABY FILLY_

_INSTEAD HERE I AM WRITING THIS NOTE,_

_USING MY BLOOD AS INK_

_LEAVE WHILE YOU CAN_

_SHE WILL GET YOU!_

_Next to the door and the note was a skeleton of a pegasus male. Around him was a large pool of dried blood and clutched in his mouth was an old feather, his own most likely. Discord regarded the note once more and briefly he considered turning around but decided against it. It was a dream after all, it wasn't like anything could actually hurt him here. Dropping the note he turned his attention back towards the door. Through the handles of the door was an old rotting piece of wood, no doubt the stallion was trying to make sure nothing got out. He levitated the board and tossed it over his shoulders and pushed on the door. It creaked as it swung open revealing a large hallway with more pictures and words carved into the walls. He took a step forward and slowly began trotting down the hall._

_As he did, he tried to rack his brain and attempt to place the language on the walls. It was nothing like he had seen before, it didn't match Equestrian, Draconian, or any other language he knew. But...something about it was familiar, but he couldn't place it. Wait! Yes he could... It was...**Discord**_

* * *

Discord jerked awake, hitting heads with a concerned Fluttershy. For a brief moment Discord was sure there was three Fluttershys in front of him instead of one. After a moment though, his head cleared and the three Fluttershys became one. Fluttershy was clutching her head and looking at him with concern. "Are you okay? If you, um, don't mind me asking that is..."she asked softly.

Discord rubbed his bruised forehead from where his head has met hers. "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" he said while doing so. It was then when he noticed and remembered about the other people in the room. While the train car they were residing in was reserved for the group, it was an open concept car which looked like a miniature apartment more then a train car. Across the room, seated on one of the couches, Twilight spoke up.

"You were mumbling and making weird sounds in your sleep." she stated, briefly lowering her book before going back to it. An enthusiastic Pinkie Pie chimed in.

"Yeah, you were totally going on about some magical artifact and how you were going to "end them all", whatever the heck that means" Discord frowned at this news. Artifact? End them all? That didn't ring a bell, nor was there any indication he was searching for something. Though that might explain why he was in such a weird place in his dream, but it was just a dream so he really didn't think anything of it.

He stretched and got up from his seat. "No idea what you were talking about, I was dreaming about...What was I dreaming about? Huh" Twilight shared a look with Rainbow Dash, one that the draconaquus knew he was not suppose to see, and one he couldn't discern. Shaking off the sudden wave of uneasiness he decided to turn his attention else where.

"So Princess Sour-Star: When are we going to be there?" While her face was hidden by her book, Discord could see her jaw and could see it tighten at hearing that name. She quickly lowered her book again, agitation on her face.

"Within the hour and don't ever call me that again" Slamming her book close, she got up from her seat and exited the train cart. Fluttershy sighed at her friends slightly dramatic exit. She honestly wasn't sure why Twilight was so mad, after all Discord had called her worse things before...mind you most of them WERE behind her back...

But still, her friend has seemed antsy and agitated during the last six hours on the train. In fact all of them did. Fluttershy really didn't have to do rocket science to figure out why. She sighed for what seemed like the millionth time today and shook her head.

"Something wrong my dear?" Discord appeared behind her, wrapping his body around her. She snuggled into his embrace and smiled. "No, nothing, don't worry." At least she had Discord to make things better.

* * *

The size of Manehattan always managed to surprise Fluttershy. Every time she came here , she was sure it had gotten even bigger then last time. As she pressed her muzzle against the train window and watched the city begin to come into view, she couldn't help but wonder what would happen over the next few days. The tension between her friends and lover was already high and she have a fairly strong feeling it was going to be in close quarters. Still, perhaps being in such close quarters would do them all good; this could be the time where she could get them all to be friends. A small smile on her mouth, she left the window and made her way over to her friends. Her fiance was nowhere to be seen, probably annoying other guests on board.

Her friends where pored over a map of the city, excitingly talking about things they wanted to do and see. Even Rarity, who had been in a bad mood for the whole trip seemed to be in better spirits. "We simply MUST go back to the theatre. I hear they are putting on a performance of Sleeping Beauty this month. Oh what I wouldn't do girls, to have a knight come and rescue me and take me away" The white unicorn sighed happily as she entered dreamland. Fluttershy giggled at her friend. Always the dreamer.

"Well I wanna go see my Aunt and Uncle Orange if that's all right with y'all. I didn't have the time to see them the last time we were here and I'd like to see how they're doing." Fluttershy nodded in understatement.

"Oh I totally get it, I would take any chance myself to go visit my family if I had the chance" AppleJack smiled at the other mare.

"Thanks Fluttershy, you always are the most understanding mare." she said as she turned back to the map in front of them.

Next to Applejack a zoned out Twilight suddenly got a large frown on her face. She glanced up at Fluttershy and gave her a quick look over. "That reminds me, you've never told me, or any of us I think, about your family before" she stated inquiringly. Fluttershy blushed.

"Oh that's because there isn't much to say really, my family really isn't that- **Her mom is some model and her father heads the Cloudsdale weather team"** interrupted Rainbow Dash, a bored expression on her face. Rarity gasped and quickly pulled the shy mare towards her.

"Model? Your mother was a model?" she asked excitedly, gripping Fluttershy closely. Fluttershy squeaked as air left her lungs and she tried desperately to breath. Unfortunately, Rarity's current grip on her was not allowing that.

"Uh Rarity, I think your crushing her" spoke up a concerned Princess Cadence. Rarity blushed and quickly released the now completely frightened and lightheaded mare. Rainbow Dash, seeing that her friend was to busy attempting to put air in her lungs, decided to speak up.

"Yeah. Her name was...What was her name? Something Gem" Suddenly Rarity was in Rainbow's face, pulling her close to the point where there was a mere centimeter between their faces.

**"AQUA GEM!?"** she asked astounded and shocked. Rainbow Dash should have expected what would come next. The moment she nodded her head, the unicorn was jumping and squealing like a mad pony before tackling a barely recuperated Fluttershy once more.

"YOUR MOTHER IS... YOUR MOTHER IS AQUA GEM AND YOU DIDN'T TELL ME! WHY WOULD YOU NOT TELL ME!" she shook the yellow pegasus with such vigor that the others thought for sure she would break poor Fluttershy in half. Fluttershy squealed out of fear and attempted to escape.

"What's so special about this... Aqua Gem?" Rarity stopped her assault and turned towards the voice, which happened to be Twilight Sparkle. Big mistake.

"What's so... She is one of THE biggest supermodels of the last three decades. She has been the cover girl for numerous magazines, She has won Ms. Equestria not once but twice! **AND TO BOOT SHE HAS ONE OF THE HIGHEST GROSSING MAKE UP LINES AROUND! WHICH I USE DAILY! AND MY BEST FRIEND COULDN'T EVEN MENTION SHE WAS RELATED TO HER!**

Rarity whipped her head around and turned to stare at the trembling Fluttershy who was seriously hoping that Discord would reappear. "I...um...it didn't seem like a big deal...she's just my mom..." Before Rarity could tackle her again, Twilight spoke up.

"I'm sure she didn't mean it personally Rarity, you know Fluttershy is a private person" the others nodded in agreement. Rarity opened her mouth then closed it. Without another word she stormed out of the room. Fluttershy started to go after her but Cadence stopped her, offering a warm smile.

"Give her time, I'm sure she's just excited that's all. Besides I think it would be best if Twilight or Spike talked to her." she suggested. Fluttershy bit her lip and sighed before nodding in agreement. Just then the crackling speakers turned on and the conductor began talking.

**"We are arriving in Manehatten in a matter of minutes. Please gather your belongings... Oh and whoever owns the draconequus and the pink pony jumping out at unsuspecting passengers, PLEASE COME GET THEM!**

* * *

**"We are arriving in Manehatten in a matter of minutes. Please gather your belongings... Oh and whoever owns the draconequus and the pink pony jumping out at unsuspecting passengers, PLEASE COME GET THEM!**

A stallion, with his face concealed by his hood, smirked as he watched the door to the private car open and close. Hiding behind a bush, he watched as a purple alicorn and a small dragon walked by, no doubt Princess Twilight and her assistant, Spike, in pursuit of their friend who had ran out just minutes ago. Before the door could close behind her, he quickly used his magic to keep it open. He waited a minute until he was sure the princess had left before quickly sliding up to the door. He quickly glanced around before taking a peek inside the compartment. Just as he hoped and expected, there was his target. A pegasus mare with pink hair and a butter yellow coat and a cutiemark that consisted of three butterflies. Of course most of her friends were with her, but along as that pesky draconequus was away, he should be fine.

The first thing Fluttershy noticed about the sudden stallion bursting into the room was his clothing. It was odd, like something out of a history book. He wore heavy black hooded robes with a strange spherical symbol on the front. His mane, which she could barely see since it was covered by his hood was a pale blue and his coat was a rusty orange.

The second thing she noticed was that he was staring at her. And in a not so good way too. What happened next was something she only read about in adventure books. He charged at her, using his magic to hold a small but nasty looking dagger, attempting to stab her. They struggled for a few seconds, as both tried to get the upper hand before he hit her upside the head, stunning her. Grinning, attempted to thrust down the dagger before he was thrown against the side of the room. He gasped in pain and stood up and looked at his assailants. Princess Cadence stood before him, venomously staring at him.

He snarled and lunged again, but this time at the princess. He was stopped by Rainbow Dash who jumped on him to stop him. "What the fuck is wrong with you!?" she asked as they struggled for dominance. As the stallion attempted to push himself away, the other two remaining friends joined in. In a matter of seconds, they had him pinned down, with a very pissed off Cadence staring at him.

"Who are you and what do you want" she asked through clenched teeth. The stallion merely spit in her face, which earned him a hard kick to the ribs from AppleJack.

"I'm not answering, you whore" Once again he earned a kick to the side, this time by a enraged Cadence.

**"Call me a whore again and you won't live to see nightfall. Now I will ask you again, who are you and why did you attempt to kill my friend."** Cadence used her magic to pull his face closer to hers. The stallion merely laughed in her face, which unsettled her.

"You want to know my dear? I am here to kill the hope" before Cadence could react the stallion headbutted her, making her drop him from his grasp. Instead of attacking Fluttershy again, he quickly ran through the open door. **"I will be back, do not doubt that"**

Rainbow Dash snarled and giving a look to AppleJack, flew after the assailant. "We're gonna go find this guy Sugarcube, we'll try to warn the others if we see them. Watch Fluttershy" said the earth pony running after the pegasus. Concerned for her friend, Cadence turned towards Fluttershy.

She was curled into a ball in the center of the room, tears were streaming down her face as she sobbed lightly. She approached the mare and pulled her to her. "Hey, it's okay. It's over now." They sat like that for a good while, Cadence cradling a distraught and frightened mare before Rainbow Dash and the others returned, Discord at the front. He practically grabbed Fluttershy from Cadence's hands, holding her close.

She cried into his fur, allowing him to hold her. Nearby Cadence, AppleJack and Rainbow Dash began to explain in detail to their friends what exactly had happened. "...and then he said: You want to know my dear? I am here to kill the hope. Then he ran off." said Cadence.

Twilight frowned and began to pace on the spot. "This makes no sense, why or who would want to kill Fluttershy? She's the sweetest mare around! She's never done anything to hurt anyone...We need to find out who this pony is. Did you find any trace of him?"

AppleJack and Rainbow Dash shook their heads. "We tried, but it's like he disappeared into thin air. We searched every car. There is no sign of this nutcase" said Rainbow Dash, glancing over at her friend, who was still crying into Discords fur, though she was starting to calm down.

"Should we head to Canterlot? This doesn't seem like some crazy pony or a random attack. This seems planned" spoke of Rarity, who was feeling incredibly guilty for having ditched her friend.

"...No..." Everyone jerked there heads towards the voice. Fluttershy pulled her face away from Discord and turned towards her friends. "No, I'm fine." she said softly. Her friends stared at her strangely for a few seconds.

"Fine ? Some madpony just attempted to stab you!" yelled Discord. "This isn't something small, if there is even a chance he is going to come back, then-**NO! **" Fluttershy cringed at the volume of her voice.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell, but um. I don't want to ruin this trip for all of you. I mean AppleJack was going to see her aunt and uncle and Rarity wants to go to the theater. I'll be fine..." She wiped her face with her hoof and glanced at her friends. She could tell they did not like this. She could also tell Discord would have none of it.

"Well maybe if we are extra vigilant..." Before Twilight could finish her sentence, she found herself face to face with Discord.

"If you even t-" Fluttershy stopped him once more, pulling him towards her. She gently nuzzled him and smiled. He in turned sighed and hugged his counterpart. He was such a pushover!

"Fine! But you are not leaving my sight! And if this guy comes back, I'm turning him into a basket ball and Twilight Sparkle cannot stop me!" he said, trying to look macho, causing the group to roll his eyes. Rainbow Dash stretched her wings and spoke.

"Well guys, it looks like this is going to be one interesting trip. To think I thought it was going to be dull."


	3. Chapter 3

The first day in Manehattan started off rough. After departing their train the previous night, the group had decided to head to their hotel and rest for the night. Aside from Twilight sending out a letter to Celestia informing her of the situation and ordering in dinner from the hotels room service, the night had been quiet, with everyone on guard and quiet. For most it had been a restless night, especially for Fluttershy who for the first time in years found herself sleeping with the lights on.

Even with Discord wrapped around her like a dragon and its treasure, she still felt scared and paranoid. She did eventually fall asleep but for no more than an hour before she forced herself awake, from a nightmare involving her would-be killer.

When dawn finally rose, she couldn't be happier. She was still paranoid and scared of course, but something about the night made the whole situation scarier. The Pegasus feeling a little bit better since the day before and desperately needing a cup of coffee decided against her rational side and quietly, began removing herself from Discords embrace. It took a good ten minutes of shifting and moving, several times she was sure he was about to wake up. But eventually she was out and made her way to the dining and living area of the penthouse suite. She made her way to the coffee maker and began making a pot of coffee.

A few minutes later she had a steaming cup of black coffee. Her favorite. She sighed happily and made her way over to one of the couches. She chooses one that was right against a wall, in the corner of the room. It gave her a full on view of their spacious penthouse, allowing her to be able to see if anything or anypony decided to appear. She smiled. She really had to send a thank you to the Princesses soon.

As she sat and sipped her coffee, she allowed her eyes to sweep over the room, taking in all the details, subconsciously looking for anything of threat to her. The penthouse suite was, as mentioned before quite large. It had four spacious bedrooms, one which contained the master suite and the others which each contained two beds and the standard set of furniture for a hotel room. It had its own full sized kitchen, a dining room, a living room, three bathrooms and a Jacuzzi. Plus there was a very large and nice patio which overlooked Manehattan that contained a pool. _Yes a pool_. It wasn't an Equestria Games sized pool; it was actually on the small side but still! Fluttershy didn't even want to know how much this place cost. No doubt it was more then she made in a year.

She felt guilty, for taking the Princesses money. She tried to say no of course but by the fourth no thank you she could tell they were getting annoyed and Fluttershy had been too worried that they would vaporize her so she agreed. The rational part of her knew that Celestia and Luna were much too nice and benevolent to vaporize her, but still.

The sound of a door opening surprised her, causing her to nearly drop her coffee. She quickly whipped her head around and was relieved to see that it was just a very tired looking Applejack leaving her room, her mane and tail all tangled and frizzy. She giggled at the sight of her friend, who in turned raised her eyebrow at her and mumbled something about models. "Coffee?" she asked, inquisitively pointing at Fluttershy's mug; The Pegasus gestured to the kitchen off to the left.

At the mention of coffee and the sound of ponies moving about, Twilight poked her head out her door and like Applejack made her way to the coffee after Fluttershy had pointed the way. Within ten minutes, the group, sans Discord and Spike, were up and awake, most with coffee in their hooves. "Oh coffee, I love you so much" said Cadence rubbing her face against the warm mug. The others laughed and sipped their own drinks. The events of yesterday were forgotten temporarily as the girls all animatedly attempted to discuss what they would be doing that day. There was talks of going to the spa, Times Square, shopping, and other things.

"We totally gotta' go hit up some clubs" piped up the cyan Pegasus, who threw up her hooves for good measure. Twilight glared annoyed at her as she barely avoided a hot splash of coffee coming from the other mare's cup.

"While I like the idea of sightseeing, I don't think clubbing is a good idea, unless we all want to end up on the cover of tabloid magazines or worse; have our drinks spiked and then be raped in some dark alleyway." exclaimed the unicorn, who at this point was ready to grab the mug away from Rainbow Dash as multiple splashes of coffee kept falling from her cup.

"Oh please? Us on tabloid covers? Raped in an alley way? Jeez, where do you come up this stuff?" Rainbow Dash once more flung her mug around, this time causing a large portion of it to fall on the pure white carpet. Twilight forcefully took the cup from her hooves and set it on the coffee table.

"Manehattan has one of the highest crime rates in Equestria and are you forgetting who we are? Two members of royalty, the elements of harmony, throw in a draconequus and an underage baby dragon? In a night club? This isn't Ponyville, tabloids would eat that up" Cadence nodded in agreement.

"While I do love nightclubs, though I highly doubt we'd be raped, I've lived in Manhattan before, back before me and Shining started dating, officially anyway. Despite being with undercover guards in highly protected penthouse, I ended up in the papers a number of times. The press is like snakes and its victims mice, in this city. They stalk your every move and no doubt they are aware of our presence in the city." Cadence shuddered and wrapped her wings around her.

"The press can't be that bad, can they?" asked Twilight.

"Oh no, they are. If you ever go to the library and look up old Manhattan newspapers and magazines you'll see headlines involving me. Everything from what I was wearing, to who I was dating, to what I was doing, to things completely made up. I cannot tell you how embarrassing it is to get a letter from your aunt asking what the hell you're doing and then confusingly opening the paper to read: Princess Cadence! Her secret harem of stallions and her kinky bedroom activity!" The group went all silent, staring at the pink alicorn. They all sat there for a good moment before they all burst out laughing, which increased as the mare blushed and faced hoof her self for having used that particular headline as an example.

Rudely awoken, Discord stumbled out of his room which he shared with his fiancé. "Why are you guys all laughing?" he asked, rubbing his eyes in an attempt to clear his vision. The laughter only increased as the draconequus stood dumbfounded and confused.

"Why do I even bother? Mares!"

Fluttershy glanced, about her surroundings nervously. All around her carriages, ponies and other creatures move about, traveling about the city. She wanted nothing more than to be hiding in a corner, but she couldn't. If she had stayed back at the hotel, her friends would have too, and she didn't want to ruin this trip for them. Besides, she would be fine right? After all she had an amazing group of friends and a wonderful fiancé who would all protect her, she had no doubt. Besides there were now several invisible guards trailing the group.

Shortly after breakfast, which was more of a buffet then a breakfast, Celestia had returned Twilight's letter. It had been quite long, taking up both sides of the paper, but the gist of it was that Celestia understood that this week was special, yet she couldn't let anyone, especially Fluttershy go unguarded. She had informed the group that she had already sent a letter to the Mayor of Manehattan, and had him assign a group of guards to oversee them during their stay. She also advised for no one to do anything rash, and that she personally would be looking into this assassinated attack along with Luna. Still even, with the added protection, she was hiding in between her friends, constantly looking over her shoulder. Normally the others would tell her not to worry, but in this situation, it was warranted.

"So, before we split off, let's go over the plan just so we make sure we know what we'll all be doing, what we should do if this psycho reappears and where to meet" spoke the purple alicorn, whipping out her list from her saddle bags. She quickly glanced at the list then, over the group, pausing briefly on Discord with a small frown on her face.

"Pinkie, Spike and Rarity are all going to check out the Statue of Liberty and other landmarks, me and Cadence, are going to be meeting with the Mayor, for appearances and also to see if we can't find more information on our...situation. And um, the rest of you, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and...Discord will apparently being going to meet with Applejack's family.

Discord was not unaware of the tone used by Twilight, or the annoyed glance from Applejack. No doubt she was worried that he would cause havoc for her and her relatives. A part of him wanted to scream, asking why they still didn't trust him, while a smaller part wanted to cause havoc, just to spite the group. Instead he chose to ignore it for now, and focus on other things.

"One half of the group of guards tailing us will be going with Applejack and the rest, as we all can assume that Fluttershy is the only target right now, and probably needs more protection. The other half will be divided between us. If any of us run into the nut case, and we get separated from the guards, use the emergency orb I gave each of you. It will signal the rest of us, and tell us where your location is." The group nodded and quickly departed ways, excited but tense at the same time.

What they didn't know was that the unknown assassin had overheard their entire conversation, and was plotting to take down his target, hopeful of succeeding this time around. And this time he wasn't going to be easily thwarted; this time he brought friends.


	4. Chapter 4

Twisted Dagger was not a happy stallion. The only thing he hated more than failing was "them" also known as Seeping Cut and Precision Arrow, fraternal twins with the mentality and attitude of a pair of foals. Sure they were good at what they did but that barely made up for the fact that they were always pestering him with questions, or taunting him, or pulling pranks.

Seeping Cut, the eldest of the twins was slightly more insane then her brother. She was a Pegasus mare with bright red hair swept into a bun. Her eyes were the shade of violet and she had a light, orange colored coat. While she usually wore a set of robes with the councils' symbol on it, as they were undercover, she was wearing nothing more than a pair of bronze horse shoes. Seeping Cut was a master a sword fighting and was also skilled in poisons and runes.

Her brother, the younger sibling, Precision Arrow was not a Pegasus like his sister, but rather a unicorn. This was due to their mother being a Pegasus and their father a unicorn. He shared his coat coloring with his sister but that was where the similarities ended. His mane was a deep brown and was wild and unruly. His eyes were a dark green which twinkled with malice. Precision Arrow was a skilled archer, having trained since a young age. He was also skilled at hoof to hoof combat and how to to blend in, even in broad daylight and being pursued. The only thing he wore was a fedora which looked stupid on him.

Now you're probably wondering why exactly Twisted Dagger disliked this pair so much, other than the fact that the acted like children. The answer is actually quite simple.

They were his cousins.

He loathed his cousins with a passion. Really, he didn't even need his cousins with him. Of course his father thought otherwise and was convinced he was unable to take out the mare known as Fluttershy, the element of kindness and an animal caretaker, so he had sent his cousins to "help" him with his task. He had it under control, he had just forgotten to factor in and consider the strength of that stupid Pegasus's friends. It was a mistake he would not make again.

"Oh, oh! Look at this, Twisty! There's going to be a Fall Festival! "Twisted cringed at the nickname, his cousin obliviously pointed to a poster in the window of the café they were sitting outside of.

"For the last time, we are on an important mission, we do not have time to run around playing games like foals!" whispered the stallion aggressively, staring at his cousin with pure loathing. 'How so very like her to want to shirk her duties' thought Twisted Dagger. Seeping Cut pouted and let out a small frustrated whine. Twisted ignored her and turned his attention back to what really mattered; figuring out how to kill that damn mare. Currently the trio, sans Precision Arrow who was….somewhere, was holed up in a café next door the hotel, The Crowned Alicorn where the target was supposedly staying.

Normally, he wouldn't care if his target was surrounded by other individuals however her fiancé was the fabled Discord of legend and had powers none could match. She was also protected by the other Elements of Harmony, one which was a princess, a dragon and another princess. Killing an Element of Harmony was one thing, but if he was to kill a member of royalty, the entire nation would be hunting him down. Besides, he couldn't kill them because it would ruin the council's plans. So he just had to wait until she was alone or surrounded by the weaker of her friends.

Suddenly, Precision Arrow appeared in Twisted's peripheral vision, causing him to jump in fright. "Don't do that, for Tourniquet's sake! "Said the startled pony; his cousin merely rolled his eyes and pointed out the window. Frowning, followed the hoof with his gaze and promptly froze.

There she was! His target, leaving the hotel surrounded by her friends and eight other ponies that he didn't recognize; He racked his brain for a moment to try and figure out who these ponies were when it hit him. "Fuck" he said out loud.

Those weren't normal ponies, they were guards. It looked like his mission got a hell of a lot harder.

Discord hated this form; it was much too simple and plain for his tastes. The ancient being was disguised as a middle-aged stallion. His antlers were gone, replaced by the standard unicorn horn. His wings were also gone, replaced by nothing (apparently a sudden, new male Alicorn would raise draw attention, according to Egghead Sparkle) and his eye color had changed from red to violet. His coat had gone from mixed match to a bluish grey. On his flank was a swirl with an unfamiliar shape, some sort symbol, in the middle. The only thing that remained was his long, scraggly white beard. Honestly, he didn't know why he chose such a boring form. Then again, it had been at the suggestion of Fluttershy, (well actually Swift Sword, one of the undercover guards following them suggested it, but Fluttershy had encouraged him) and well, he would do anything for her, even though he would never admit it to anypony.

The purpose of the disguise was mostly to stop the locals from panicking. Not many were aware of the fact that Discord had been reformed. Many assumed he was still a statue in the Canterlot Royal gardens. There was also the fact that after Discord had caused chaos to the city, the mayor had declared him a menace and encouraged her citizens to call the guard immediately if they saw him. Many Manehattan natives were unconvinced that Discord had even been turned back to stone, many though he fled, waiting for the chance to attack. In fact, when they had checked into the hotel the receptionist had started screaming and calling for the guard.

The guards assigned to them weren't any less happy, as well as the mayor. They didn't trust Discord. When Mayor Sunshine Smiles had heard about Discord being in town, she had immediately sent word to Celestia. Apparently it has taken a dozen letters back and forth to Celestia to convince the mayor not to declare war on Discord. Really, he didn't know why she was making such a big deal out of the situation. He had done worse things to Canterlot and Ponyville during his hostile takeover. The most he did to Manehattan was summon a chocolate tornado and maybe a few other things. The draconaquuas laughed as he recalled the life-sized cheese dogs failing from the sky.

As Discord laughed, he casually allowed his eyes to shift over the carriage he was sitting in, out towards the city. Their carriage was headed towards East Manehattan, from what the Element of Honesty said, it was where most rich ponies lived. The mare looked quite nervous and out of place, largely so. She had done herself up, curling her hair and putting on make-up. She didn't wear any fancy clothes, but she had put on a pearl necklace and donned a pair of bronze plated horseshoes. Honestly she looked odd, the makeup and pearl necklace did nothing to suit her.

Discord also looked out of place, as did everyone else. When Applejack had decided to visit her Aunt and Uncle, and had realized Discord and Fluttershy would be tagging along, she forced them both to dress up and demanded that Discord behave. While he would normally ignore her threats and be absolutely against dressing up, it was the looks from his fiancé that made him keep his mouth shut and go along. With his magic, he dressed himself in a Tuxedo jacket, a bright white linen shirt underneath and for extra classiness, donned a top hat and a monocle. Fluttershy wore just a wide, brimmed hat with an elegant silk green bow tied around its base as well as another bow around her neck. Discord offered to summon her up something more "snobby" but the mare refused.

As the carriage passed through streets, Discord could tell that they were nearing their destination. The stores they were currently passing were filled with elegant, expensive looking stuff in the windows such as several mannequins which were donned in expensive looking dresses and tuxedos, covered in crystals and silk. There was also the fact that the ponies walking the streets were dressed as well, rich ponies. They wore silk garments, gold plated horseshoes, elegant hats and coats as well as things like boas or high-end saddles. Their expressions and posture screamed: I'm rich and you're not, so bow to me peasant! Discord could already tell that while these were the most fun ponies to mess with, he was not going to have a fun time.

Finally the carriage stopped outside a large, upscale apartment building. Discord, Fluttershy and Applejack slowly got out of the cart and after paying the quite, stocky carriage puller slowly made their way towards the pair of ponies outside the doors. They were doorcolts, though they also served a bit as guards, making sure no rift-raft got inside to harass the tenants or to rob apartments, or anything else for that matter. Instantly, the disguised draconequus could tell that they were going to have an issue when he saw the heavier colt, a unicorn, slowly move his eyes over Fluttershy's flank and licked his lips. He growled softly and shot a look towards the stallion. The doorcolt was unfazed and only gave him a sneer. Before Discord could transform him into a toad, or something else that was befitting of him, Applejack stepped forward and spoke with the stallions.

"Hello, I am here to see Mr. and Mrs. Orange. Would you happen to know if they are at all perhaps home?" said Applejack, tapping into her inner-snob by ditching her usual way of speaking for one that gave the sense of superiority and money in every word. The other stallion, a Pegasus, merely glanced them over and frowned.

"What business do you have here?" asked the stallion, suspicious of the group of ponies, especially the ones that were behind the trio, glancing around and studying every passing pony with extreme detail.

"I am Valencia and Mosely's niece, Lady Applejack of Ponyville, and these are my companions, Lady Fluttershy of Ponyville and….er…Duke….Duke Disc of Ponyville. " said the earth pony, a look of uneasiness on her face.

"And those other ponies with you?"

"Their escort and body guards; We are here to insure that they are safe and secure and that no low-class ruffians come near them" said Swift Sword, stepping forward, her wild silver mane swishing behind her. The guards grunted for a moment before gesturing them to go in. As they passed, Discord spied the guard from earlier attempting to brush his hoof over Fluttershy's flank as they passed. Calmly and quietly, the draconequus summoned up a bucket of water and had it fall on top of the stallion.

The stallion sputtered and gasped as the cold water hit him, soaking him to the bone. Thankfully, the rest of the group was already half way inside and too distracted to notice. Discord grinned and followed after his fiancé, shooting a smug look back at the stallion who was trying to figure out where the bucket of water had come from.


End file.
